Lancaster Plane Crash Leaves Two Dead In Western New York State

A plane crash near the Buffalo-Lancaster Regional Airport has left two dead, a 78-year-old pilot and a 14-year-old boy. The crash happened midair between two recreational single-engine aircrafts during an event of the Experimental Aircraft Association, according to the Buffalo News, "designed to introduce young people to the thrill of flying".

"It’s a very sad time when you have a very rare incident like this,” Dick Knapinski, spokesman for the organizing group, explained, “You feel for not only the families of the pilot and the person involved, but all the people that work so hard to promote aviation and make these events possible for young people.”

The pilots had been taking children up in their planes for 20-minute rides. The collision happened suddenly at 10:40 A.M. “I heard this crashing noise, and looked up,” eyewitness Allen Wadsworth said. “I saw a plane as I looked toward Town Line Road. It veered off toward the right. The other plane flipped and spiraled down to the ground. I heard the thud.”

“This guy was in trouble. You could see him going that way, and we thought he was going to land in the field right across the street. But he managed to go a little further and get just past the tree line, and he turned sideways and spiraled right down. We heard him hit the ground. I ran right in and called 911," Pat Harmon, another eyewitness, told WHEC.

Both occupants of the other plan survived the crash. "The second plane, the pilot managed to put the plane on he ground with some difficulty. That site is now secure here off of Kiefer road. Pilot and one from what we understand, 9-year-old female passenger, neither one of them sustained life threatening injuries," Gregory Savage, Erie County sheriff's office, said according to Time Warner Cable News.